Transport means for record cards

ABSTRACT

Transport means sequentially picks bottom cards from deck in supply hopper and moves them across platform bottom of hopper into engagement with drive rolls to pass them across the read station of the card reader. Picking means reciprocated by carriage is made of resilient sheet metal with individual fingers extending in direction of reciprocation. Fingers normally extend above platform to engage card deck and yield to its pressure. Pickers at finger ends have detent portions to engage edge of bottom cards to pull them across platform. Detents extend in line perpendicular to fingers to engage major portion of length of card edge and reduce unit loading to avoid tearing or chipping. Pickers and fingers yield individually in bending and torsion to accommodate cards which are bowed either convex or concave to produce maximum engagement.

United States Patent 3,380,732 4ll968 Simpson H 271/44 Primary Examiner-Joseph Wegbreit Assislanl Examiner-Bruce H. Stoner, Jr AltorneySheridan, Ross and Burton ABSTRACT: Transport means sequentially picks bottom cards from deck in supply hopper and moves them across platform bottom of hopper into engagement with drive rolls to pass them across the read station of the card reader. Picking means reciprocated by carriage is made of resilient sheet metal with individual fingers extending in direction of recipro cation. Fingers normally extend above platform to engage card deck and yield to its pressure. Pickers at finger ends have detent portions to engage edge of bottom cards to pull them across platform. Detents extend in line perpendicular to fingers to engage major portion of length of card edge and reduce unit loading to avoid tearing or chipping. Pickers and fingers yield individually in bending and torsion to accommodate cards which are bowed either convex or concave to produce maximum engagement.

PATENTEUJUL13|97| 3.592 ,463

sum 1 or 3 INVENTOR ROBERT W BONNEMA L WRENCE V COTE I Mn) A TTORNEYS PATENIEUJULHISH 3,592 463 SHEET 2 BF 3 l J J 76 -78 80 E i 4 INVENTOR ROBERT w BONNEMA BYL ENCE v COTE l w M ATTORNEYS PATENTED Juu 3mm 3. 592 ,463

sum 3 0F 3 ee 48 46 5o 82 48) INVENTOR zl- ROBERT w BONNEMA LAWRENCE V. COTE ATTORNEYS TRANSPORT MEANS FOR RECORD CARDS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention lies in the field of card-reading machines of the type which are provided with an input hopper to receive a supply deck of record cards such as punched tabulating cards, a platform to support the deck, picking means to sequentially engage the lowermost cards in the deck and move them across the platform, drive rolls to sequentially receive the cards and pass them across a card reader. and a stacking or output hopper to receive the cards after they are read. The invention is directed more particularly to the picking means which ongages the adjacent edge of the lowermost card in the deck to separate it from the next card and cause it to slide under the deck to a position where it is gripped by the drive rolls and passed through the reading station.

Machines of the type referred to above are in rather general use and carry out their primary purpose very satisfactorily. However, those with the picking means presently used encounter difficulties of several kinds. The card readers at the reading stations are capable of analyzing cards at extremely high rates of speed, such as 1,000 or 2,000 cards per minute. One type of picking means which operates on a modified form of reading machine employs a vacuum cup on a swinging arm, the vacuum cup picking cards off the top of a deck and moving them some distance toward a reading station. As speeds in crease, the top card tends to pick up the next one or more succeeding cards because of their close facewise engagement. Thus, this type is limited to rather low speeds and cannot use the capacity of the card reader.

The more usual type is a picker having a hook or detent engaging the adjacent edge of a card and then reciprocating in an opening in the hopper platform to move the card into engagement with the drive rolls. This type is capable of operating at high speeds but not very satisfactorily. The picker is a rigid body with a very small hook or detent which engages a very short length of the edge of a card, in some cases as little as one-eighth inch. When the hook strikes such a small portion of the card edge at high speed, it has a strong tendency to dent or chip the edge so that it may not feed properly the next time it is used. The small hook often fails to properly engage a card edge which has been previously damaged, and a stoppage results. If some or all of the cards in a deck are bowed so that they are concave downwardly, the hook will not engage them at all. If they are convex downwardly the hook may take tvto cards at a time or do considerable damage to the lower one.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes the difficulties mentioned above by providing a transport mechanism which will engage every card as intended whether the edge is bowed or otherwise distorted or considerably damaged, and the nature of its engagement eliminates the possibility of edge damage.

Generally stated, a carriage or support is provided which reciprocates in or beneath an elongate opening in the platform defining the bottom of the input hopper along a path generally parallel to the upper surface of the platform. and toward and away from a set of drive rolls located beyond an edge of the platform. The picker means in its preferred form comprises a very thin sheet of resilient metal, such as spring brass, which is generally rectangular in form. One margin, which may be con sidered the leading edge, is attached to the carriage and constitutes a support for a plurality of slender elongate fingers lefined by slots cut through the sheet and extending to the opposite margin or trailing edge of the sheet. The free ends of these picker fingers constitute individual pickers which are free to move independently up and down or about the axes of their respective fingers. Each picker is terminated at the trailing edge by an upstanding detent portion sized and shaped to engage the adjacent edge of the lowermost card in the deck.

The slots are of substantial width in the intermediate porlon of the sheet but are mere parting slits at the trailing edge.

Thus the pickers present a substantially conlimmu: flat late area to underlie the trailing edge of the deck, which is the edge remote from the drive rolls. The detent portions are as wide as the pickers and therefore they present a substantially continuous detent. The total width of the combined pickers and detents is equal to a major portion of the length of the adjacent edge of the card deck. Therefore the unit load on a card edge produced by contact of the detent at the beginning of the reciprocation is very low and damage is precluded. Moreover, if a portion of the card edge has previously been damaged, the major portion of the detent will engage the undamaged remainder of the card edge.

The metal sheet is so mounted that its leading edge lies slightly below the upper surface of the platform and the remainder extends rearwardly and upwardly to a point above the platform surface. Thus, when a deck of cards is placed in the input hopper the cards press the sheet down, and the pickers are all in intimate facewise contact with the lower surface of the bottom card, insuring that the detent will properly engage the card edge. Since the pickers and fingers are independently yieldable in bending and torsion they will adapt exactly to each card whether it is flat or bowed upwardly or downwardly or otherwise distorted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various other advantages and features of novelty will become apparent as the description proceeds in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. in which:

FIG. I is a schematic view in perspective showing the transport means and its relation to the remainder of a card-reading machine;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section, showing the relation of the transport means to a supply deck of cards;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 illustrating the action of the transport means;

FIG. 4 is a plan view ofthe preferred form of picking means;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are end views of the picking means engaged by bowed cards;

FIG. 7 is a plan view ofa modified form ofpicking means;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of another modified form of picking means;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of still another modified form of picking means;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a picker finger having a picker movably attached thereto;

FIG. I] is a sectional view taken on line llll of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken on line 1242 of FIG. II; and

FIG. 13 is a view similar to that shown in FIG. 10 showing picker fingers of another configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention is generally illustrated in its relation to a total card-reading machine in FIG. 1, where it will be seen that the transport means I0 is located in the upper portion of the machine casing 12, shown in phantom lines, and at one end thereof. Its function is to sequentially remove record cards from the bottom of a supply deck placed in the input hopper 14 and move them longitudinally into engagement with a set of drive rolls 16 which grip each card and pass it through a reading station 18 which includes a light source 20 and a reader 22 in the form ofa row of photosensors. After it leaves the reading station, each card passes through additional drive rolls 24 and then free-falls to a stack in output hopper 26. A motor 28 drives a clutch mechanism 30 by means of belt 32 and pulley 34, and drives the drive rolls through additional pulley, belt and gear means not primarily concerned with the invention.

The input hopper 14 includes upwardly extending guide walls 36 and a platform 38 which defines the bottom of the hopper. The cards to be handled are rectangular and somewhat more than twice as long as they are wide. The platform is of the same shape as the cards di'itl is illl'ttllgLtl as shown in FIG. 1 so that the cards will be transported in the direction of their longitudinal axes toward the drive rolls to which are just beyond the one end of the platform. lliis at rangement is used in the machine because the iritorinatlon to be read is programmed along the longitudinal axes of the card. However. the invention operates in the same way if used with a machine in which the cards are transported in the direction oftheir lateral axes. MOreover. the machine need not he set in the basically horizontal arrangement as show but may he at various angles so long as there is a vertical component to the movement ofthe card deck.

Platform 38 is provided with a generally rectangular opening 40 for receiving a carriage 42 as shown in FIGS 2 and 3. which reciprocates toward and away from drive rolls 16 as indicated by the arrows. Picking means for sequentially trans porting the lowermost cards of the deck longitudinally into en gagement with the drive rolls is shown in its presently preferred form as a generally rectangular sheet 44 of very thin resilient metal, such as sheet brass. fhe margin or support 46 nearest to the drive rolls and perpendicular to the direction of reciprocation is connected to the carriage by any suitable means and is considered as the leading edge. I he opposite or free margin 48 remote from the drive roll sand also perpendicular to the direction of reciprocation is considered as the trailing edge.

Considering sheet 44 a imperforate for purposes of pltillltll nary explanation, the general operation of the device is illustrated in FIGS. 1 2. and 3. It will be seen that the remainder 50 of sheet 44 behind leading edge 46 is angled upwardly and rearwardly, and the sheet is mounted on .he carriage so that leading edge 46 is located slightly below the upper surface 52 of the platform while portion 50 is angled to such an extent that the trailing edge 48 is above surface 52 when not loaded by the card deck 54 seen best in FIG. 2. Deient means 56 is provided at trailing edge 48 and comprises an upwardly eii tending formation sized and shaped to engage the adjacent edge of the lowermost card 58. The spring rate of sheet -44 is low enough to allow it to yield readily under the pressuie of the card deck so that the deck Wlll lie directly on the platform with sheet 44 close beneath it.

Clutch mechanism 30 shown in FIG I is contiinii usly driven by motor 28 and is constructed in known manner to re peatedly or sequentially actuate its lever arm 60 to pull link 62 forward toward the reading station and return it to a pootioii of rest as shown in FIG lv Link 62 is pivotally connected to arm 64 fixedly connected to and depending from carriage 42. The carriage itself is slidably mounted on shaft 66 carried by brackets 68 depe ding from platform 38. Hence, each time the clutch mecharin cycles, carriage 42 recipiocates once along a path substantially parallel to the plane ofthe platform through a predetermined distance toward and away from the drive rolls l6 When the card deck 54 is lowered to the position of Flt). 3 the upper surface of plate 44 adjacent the trailing edge will be in intimate contact with the underside of the lowermost card and detent 56 will be spaced :1 short distance beyond the edge. When the clutch cycles carriage 42 is moved to the left as viewed in FIGv 3 and dctent 56 engages the trailing edgi; of the lowermost card 58 and moves it to the left to the position shown in FIG. 3 where the card is grippped between the lltlll" tinuously turning drive rolls l6 and passed on to the reading station. Completion of the cycle returns the carriage and sheet 44 back to the position of HO. 2 and the detent is ready to engage the next card in the same way it will be apparent that the construction described above insures that the picking means will engage and transport every card without full and that the substantial lateral extent of the deieiit eliminates the problem ofcards with damaged edges.

As previously pointed out. other problems are presented when card edges are bowed up or down or are wavy. The con ventional narrow rigid picking means viill fail to engage the edges or possibly p ck two cards at a time or trick the edge oi ii Zll Sli

bottom card llicsc problems are overcome by the detailed constructions about to he desci died.

In the construction disclosed in FIG. 4 the portion 50 of sheet 44 is pierced by slots 76, 72, '74 extending perpendicular to the leading and trailing edges and dividing the sheet into a plurality of elongate slender resilient picker fingers 7b 78, and 80, which are adapted to flex independently under the pressure of various parts of the card deck. The slots are rela tively wide throughout most of their lengths but are very narrow adjacent to the trailing edge 48 to define individual pickers 52 which LDmblHC to produce a substantially continuour picker body across the width of the sheet. Each picker is rovided with an upstanding detent portion 84 which likewise combine to produce a substantially continuous detent across the trailing edge ofthe sheetv The graduated length ofthe slots with the shortest slot at the longitudinal center provides graduated resiliency in the fingers. those adjacent the margin being most resilient. FIGS 5 and 6 illustrate how the individual fingers flex to accominodate cards which are bowed upward or downward about the longitudinal axes ofthe cards. In addition to accommodating the vertical height of card edge portions, the resiliency of the lingers allows them to twist slightly about their longitu diiiiil axes so that the pickers will be in intimate facewise contact with the \JllOUb portions of the card bottoms. The amount of bowing has been exaggerated in the FIGS. to more clearly illustrate the problem and the solution.

in the form shown in HO. 7, sheet 44 is provided with slots 86 which are all of the same length and define fingers 88 which are all of the same length The slots extend almost the full length oi the sheet and hence the fingers are all more tciilllutll than any of the fingers in the form of FIG. 4

hi the form shown in FIG 3, the slots 90 are substantially broadened at an intermediate locus and the outer margins 92 an; cut away to it corresponding extent so that each resulting linger '94 has a very narrow necked down portion 96 at an intermediate locus. The resulting reduction in torsional re sisiiince assists the pickers to assume the attitudes shown in NUS. 5 and 6.

Occasionally all or part of a deck of record cards will be how ed downwardly convex about a lateral axis. This problem is overcome by the noilificzitioii shown in FIG 9 which may be applied to any of the other forms shown or described herein in this list: the intermediate portion 50 of the sheet 44 la dispiici-il iftllTl a plane tontainiiig the leading edge 46 illld the trailing edge or iietcnt portion 48 or 56 iii a direction pill tll' :ltl lCFl' htii ril'lgl 'iteni}1t)rti11- l hc displacement is sh wn as a smooth curve but ii may take any form which will pi'widi: a clearance space for the deformed cards and still locate the trailing edge and deterit high enough to engage the card edge.

A turthei modification is shown in FIGS. It) to l2 where a plurality ot'tapercil lingers 98 extend rearwardly from leading edge and support 46. The nailing free end 100 is considerably wider than the intermediate portion to form tabs 192 which are bent downwardly and inwardly to form an oval tubular hearing A separate picker is formed ofa rectangular foot sec- Ililfi 04 having an upturned flange 106 at its outer free end which defines a detent portion equivalent to those of the t'it'L.li1Uh forms. [he central longitudinal portion of the foot section is pierced and struck down to define is depending leg I08 and an integral shank I10 fitting loosely in the bearing and an integral tah H2 bent down at the free end ofthe shank to prevent removal Elie oval shape of the bearing and the flat shape of the shank t il'l'lblnfid with the loose fit provide for limited rotation oiihe picker about the longitudinal axis of the finger. The curved upper surface ofihe finger as illustrated in l l l2 iziciiitates tilting of the picker under load. it will be scttii that this picker is well adapted for intimate facewise con tract with the underside of a curved or otherwise deformed portion fa card.

ft iiiithcr riiodificatioii is shown in l'l(i L! where a plurality of fingers HR extend iezirwarilly from leading edge and support "6. The fingers "8 are constructed from a cylindrically shaped rod and. as such. may flex easily whereby the ends thereof(not shown) may engage the end ofa card.

in any of the forms disclosed, the fingers may be made individually and separately secured to the carriage or other support, but the integral type is preferably for ease of manufacture and continued accuracy in use.

it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the construction as disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention and it is intended that all such changes shall be embraced within the scope of the following claims.

lclaim:

1. Apparatus for sequentially transporting record cards from a supply deck to a receiving station of a card-handling machine, comprising: an input hopper to contain a supply deck of record cards; the hopper including upwardly extending guide walls and having an exit end adjacent to the receiving station; a platform defining the bottom of the hopper; an elongate passage through said platform having a horizontal longitudinal axis extending toward and away from the receiving station; and picking means to remove cards sequentially from the bottom of the deck and transport them toward the receiving station; the picking means including a laterally ex tensive carriage having a relatively small fore and aft dimension and mounted for reciprocating movement within the passage and below the upper surface of the platform along the longitudinal axis of the passage through a predetermined distance toward and away from the receiving station; and a plurality of card-edge-engaging pickers connected to the carriage and extending a substantial distance rearward thereof in a direction opposite to the receiving station for reciprocation with the carriage; each picker having an upstanding detent portion at its free end remote from the carriage. and said detent portions being arranged in a line extending perpendicular to the direction of reciprocation and generally parallel to the plane of the platform; each picker being independently movable upward and downward and being resiliently biased to a normal position with its detent portion above the platform but yieldable to a position below the upper surface of the platform behind the carriage and within the passage; the pickers. at the limit of their movement away from the receiving station, being located to underlie the portion of a card deck remote from the receiving station with their detent portions beyond the edge of the deck; the resilient biasing force being slight enough to allow the pickers to yield under the pressure of the deck; and the detent portions being shaped and sized to engage the edge of the lowermost card in the deck and transport the card forward toward the receiving station upon reciprocation of the carriage.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim I; said detent portions being arranged along the major part of the length of the edge of the adjacent card.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2; each of said detent portions having a substantial length parallel to the edge of an adjacent-card and the combined lengths of said detent portions being a major portion of the length of the adjacent card edge to minimize the unit load on the card edge.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim I; each picker having a substantially flat upper surface adjacent to its detent portion; and each picker being movable to a limited extent about an axis generally parallel to the direction of reciprocation to facilitate intimate facewise contact with the adjacent portion of a card which is bowed about an axis parallel to the direction of reciprocation and proper engagement of the detent portions with the card edge. t

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim I; and a picker finger connecting each picker to the carriage; said fingers being slender and elongate and formed of thin resilient sheet metal and lying substantially in a common plane; said carriage and the ends of the fingers secured thereto lying slightly below the upper surface of the platform with said fingers extending upwardly and outwardly from the carriage to locate their outer free ends normally above the upper surface of the platform in unloaded condition; the spring rate of said fingers being low enough to yield readily under the pressure ofa deck of record cards.

6. Picking means for use in the card transport mechanism of a card-reading machine. comprising: a support; a plurality of slender elongate picker fingers connected to said support and extending parallel to each other away from said support with the fingers lying in a substantially common plane with each other and with said support; the free ends of said fingers being spaced from said support by distances equal to the lengths of said fingers; a picker at the free end of each finger; and an upstanding detent portion at the edge of each picker sized and shaped to engage the adjacent edge of the lowermost card to a deck of record cards; said detent portions being arranged in a straight line perpendicular to the axes of said fingers; and said fingers being formed of resilient material having a low spring rate to yield readily in bending and torsion to the pressure of a card deck; said fingers being yieldably movable to positions both above and below the plane of said support.

7. Picking means as claimed in claim 6; said detent portions each having a substantial length in the direction of their line of arrangement and being adjacent to each other to define a substantially continuous upstanding detent from end to end.

8. Picking means as claimed in claim 6; said fingers all being of substantially the same length to present uniform biasing forces.

9. Picking means as claimed in claim 6; the intermediate portions of said fingers being displaced from a plane containing said support and said detent portions in a direction opposite to the direction of the upstanding detent portions to provide clearance space for bowed cards.

10. Picking means as claimed in claim 6; the picker at the end of each finger being mounted for limited rotation about the axis of its respective finger to adjust the angular attitude of the adjacent portion ofa card.

ll. Picking means for use in the card transport mechanism of a card-reading machine comprising: a support; a plurality of slender elongate picker fingers connected to said support and extending parallel to each other in a generally common plane; a picker at the free end of each finger; and an upstanding detent portion at the edge of each picker sized and shaped to engage the adjacent edge of the lowermost card ofa deck of record cards; said detent portions being arranged in a straight line perpendicular to the axes of said fingers; and said fingers being formed of resilient material having a low spring rate to yield readily to the pressure ofa card deck; said picking means being in the form of a generally rectangular thin sheet of resilient metal; one margin of the sheet being the support, the fingers being integrally connected thereto; aid fingers being defined by elongate slots extending perpendicularly to the length of the support margin and dividing the opposite margin into discrete portions.

12. Picking means as claimed in claim II; the fingers being of graduated lengths with the centrally located fingers being the shortest and the outermost fingers being the longest to provide maximum resilience at the side margins.

13. Picking means as claimed in claim ll; said slots being extremely narrow at the detent margin to provide a substantially continuous length of detent for engagement with the edge ofa card.

14. Picking means as claimed in claim ll; said slots being considerably widened at a locus intermediate their ends to greatly reduce the cross section of the fingers at said locus and correspondingly reduce their resistance to torsion about their longitudinal axes. 

1. Apparatus for sequentially transporting record cards from a supply deck to a receiving station of a card-handling machine, comprising: an input hopper to contain a supply deck of record cards; the hopper including upwardly extending guide walls and having an exit end adjacent to the receiving station; a platform defining the bottom of the hopper; an elongate passage through said platform having a horizontal longitudinal axis extending toward and away from the receiving station; and picking means to remove cards sequentially from the bottom of the deck and transport them toward the receiving station; the picking means including a laterally extensive carriage having a relatively small fore and aft dimension and mounted for reciprocating movement within the passage and below the upper surface of the platform along the longitudinal axis of the passage through a predetermined distance toward and away from the receiving station; and a plurality of card-edge-engaging pickers connected to the carriage and extending a substantial distance rearward thereof in a direction opposite to the receiving station for reciprocation with the carriage; each picker having an upstanding detent portion at its free end remote from the carriage, and said detent portions being arranged in a line extending perpendicular to the direction of reciprocation and generally parallel to the plane of the platform; each picker being independently movable upward and downward and being resilientlY biased to a normal position with its detent portion above the platform but yieldable to a position below the upper surface of the platform behind the carriage and within the passage; the pickers, at the limit of their movement away from the receiving station, being located to underlie the portion of a card deck remote from the receiving station with their detent portions beyond the edge of the deck; the resilient biasing force being slight enough to allow the pickers to yield under the pressure of the deck; and the detent portions being shaped and sized to engage the edge of the lowermost card in the deck and transport the card forward toward the receiving station upon reciprocation of the carriage.
 2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1; said detent portions being arranged along the major part of the length of the edge of the adjacent card.
 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2; each of said detent portions having a substantial length parallel to the edge of an adjacent card and the combined lengths of said detent portions being a major portion of the length of the adjacent card edge to minimize the unit load on the card edge.
 4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1; each picker having a substantially flat upper surface adjacent to its detent portion; and each picker being movable to a limited extent about an axis generally parallel to the direction of reciprocation to facilitate intimate facewise contact with the adjacent portion of a card which is bowed about an axis parallel to the direction of reciprocation and proper engagement of the detent portions with the card edge.
 5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1; and a picker finger connecting each picker to the carriage; said fingers being slender and elongate and formed of thin resilient sheet metal and lying substantially in a common plane; said carriage and the ends of the fingers secured thereto lying slightly below the upper surface of the platform with said fingers extending upwardly and outwardly from the carriage to locate their outer free ends normally above the upper surface of the platform in unloaded condition; the spring rate of said fingers being low enough to yield readily under the pressure of a deck of record cards.
 6. Picking means for use in the card transport mechanism of a card-reading machine, comprising: a support; a plurality of slender elongate picker fingers connected to said support and extending parallel to each other away from said support with the fingers lying in a substantially common plane with each other and with said support; the free ends of said fingers being spaced from said support by distances equal to the lengths of said fingers; a picker at the free end of each finger; and an upstanding detent portion at the edge of each picker sized and shaped to engage the adjacent edge of the lowermost card to a deck of record cards; said detent portions being arranged in a straight line perpendicular to the axes of said fingers; and said fingers being formed of resilient material having a low spring rate to yield readily in bending and torsion to the pressure of a card deck; said fingers being yieldably movable to positions both above and below the plane of said support.
 7. Picking means as claimed in claim 6; said detent portions each having a substantial length in the direction of their line of arrangement and being adjacent to each other to define a substantially continuous upstanding detent from end to end.
 8. Picking means as claimed in claim 6; said fingers all being of substantially the same length to present uniform biasing forces.
 9. Picking means as claimed in claim 6; the intermediate portions of said fingers being displaced from a plane containing said support and said detent portions in a direction opposite to the direction of the upstanding detent portions to provide clearance space for bowed cards.
 10. Picking means as claimed in claim 6; the picker at the end of each finger being mounted for limited rotation about the axis of its respective finger to adjust the angular atTitude of the adjacent portion of a card.
 11. Picking means for use in the card transport mechanism of a card-reading machine, comprising: a support; a plurality of slender elongate picker fingers connected to said support and extending parallel to each other in a generally common plane; a picker at the free end of each finger; and an upstanding detent portion at the edge of each picker sized and shaped to engage the adjacent edge of the lowermost card of a deck of record cards; said detent portions being arranged in a straight line perpendicular to the axes of said fingers; and said fingers being formed of resilient material having a low spring rate to yield readily to the pressure of a card deck; said picking means being in the form of a generally rectangular thin sheet of resilient metal; one margin of the sheet being the support, the fingers being integrally connected thereto; said fingers being defined by elongate slots extending perpendicularly to the length of the support margin and dividing the opposite margin into discrete portions.
 12. Picking means as claimed in claim 11; the fingers being of graduated lengths with the centrally located fingers being the shortest and the outermost fingers being the longest to provide maximum resilience at the side margins.
 13. Picking means as claimed in claim 11; said slots being extremely narrow at the detent margin to provide a substantially continuous length of detent for engagement with the edge of a card.
 14. Picking means as claimed in claim 11; said slots being considerably widened at a locus intermediate their ends to greatly reduce the cross section of the fingers at said locus and correspondingly reduce their resistance to torsion about their longitudinal axes. 